Saturday, November 29, 2014

The Blood of Olympus (Heroes of Olympus #5): 3 Stars

The Blood of Olympus (Heroes of Olympus #5) by Rick Riordan

The final book in the Heroes of Olympus series is all about the seven heroes of the prophecy.  The prophecy reads:

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call,
To storm or fire, the world must fall,
An oath to keep with a final breath,
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death

Considering the word "death" and phrase "final breath" were in the prophecy, there has been a lot of speculation that one of the seven would die.  Considering the seven consisted of three couples (Percy and Annabeth, Jason and Piper, and Frank and Hazel), and one single member, I was worried for Leo's safety. Leo is by far my favorite out of the seven and I was just not okay with his death.  And as I read on, my worries were only heightened. There were also many fan speculations that Leo would die and that is how he would end up with Calypso.  This ending would NOT have been okay with me!

With Gaea on the rise, giants to be fought, and Camp Jupiter and Camp HalfBlood at each others throats, the seven have a lot of work ahead of them and none of it will be easy. Luckily, they had the help of Nico, Reyna, and many others. 

Much like the rest of this series and the preceding series, Riordan does an excellent job of voicing teenagers in a "must save the world" predicament. Forced to grow up, but still feeling the feelings of teenagers (angst, fear, jealousy, etc.) Riordan captures their voices perfectly.

The main character I feel that Riordan nailed down was Nico. Knowing now that Nico has been in love with Percy, the same guy who was there when his sister, Bianca died, and having to watch him with Annabeth, Nico's chaotic attitude made so much more sense. I went from waiting for him to be revealed as a bad guy, to liking him and hoping he put down his guard long enough to figure out he had friends.

One thing I found curious about this book was that Riordan had no chapters from Percy or Annabeth's perspective.  Each chapter is titled after a character (not just the seven) and is from that character's perspective.  Yet none of the chapters focused on Percy or Annabeth.  Why? Anybody know? Was Riordan bored of their characters always taking the limelight?

The Heroes of Olympus series was very good and I found that I enjoyed it even more than the  Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Perhaps it was because the characters were a little older and more mature. Perhaps it was the addition of Leo. Whatever the reason, it was an enjoyable series.

Now, you may be wondering why I rated the entire series as 3 stars if I enjoyed it.  The answer is simple. I am not a YA fan. I struggle to relate to teenagers and often find myself rolling my eyes when they act immature. That being said, I believe if you like reading about teenagers, this series would be a 4 or 5 star rating for you!

Rating: PG

Recommended for those who enjoy: mythology, action, YA, and young love.

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